First let me say, it is none of my business what your medical condition is, so if you don't want to answer, I understand. That is the right to your privacy...but....

My dad is currently in the hospital for a 5th skin graft to patch up his foot.

My dad has known for 7 years that he has adult-onset diabetes, and he really didn't start taking care of himself until just about a year and a half ago, when he noticed that he stepped on a nail at his ranch. It went right through the leather heel of the boot and into his foot. He didn't feel it though.

He was at a meeting with the board of directors for our company, including our senior medical team for our hospitals we own. Anyway, he had one of the doctors look at it as it was pussing and Dr. Armstrong (cheif doctor) said that he needed to be hospitalized THAT day and they took him in.

The first two skin grafts did not take and they started doing hyperberic (sp?) chamber treatments on him, trying to increase the blood circulation in his foot. He has also started to eat much healthier and does not touch alcohol anymore (one of the culprits of his condition). He's down to normal weight for a man his age.

Anyway, he thought he had his finaly skin graft about 2 months ago, but it didn't take, HOWEVER, there was more blood flow in his heel. So they did the 5th skin graft. It's taking, but he just had an MRI done last week and the infection is back and is all the way into the bone of his heel.

I'm worried sick about him right now. I'm afraid he's going to loose his foot. I'm not sure what the alternatives are, but he's back on doing hyperberic chamber treatments for 3 hours every morning and they are going to keep him in the hospital and feed him hy powered anti-biotics for the next week.

I'm sort of wondering if we are getting to the end of this deal one way or another. I just don't want them to have to cut his foot off, because it would be so tough on him and he likes to be active.

My grandma had it and it took her life back in 1996, my uncle has it as well, but his is only type two so he does not need the insulin injections and controls his by diet. Diabetes is one of the number one killers in my country and I too am worried that one day I will be diagnosed with it. I get my blood tested every six months just to be safe. I would suggest that you consult http://www.diabetes.ca/

Diabetes is a dirty, filthy opportunistic disease. It helps in shutting down or severly hampering your body's vital functions--if left unchecked, untreated and if a patient REFUSES to change his/her lifestyle.

Although, I am not diabetic (knock wood) my mother is and has lost a big toe, has been on dialysis, has had a kidney transplant (with many health complications after the fact). But like I mentioned, the patient is fully responsible for taking steps to control their diets, get exercise, test their BSL often and take the proper medication. It's really painful to start watching someone's body slowly shut down, function by function.

Not to be a total downer aobut this...

The only thing we have to fear is the sky falling on our heads. -Asterix

UAL--my best to you and your father. It sounds like he is getting excellent treatment and probably all you can do is pray and hope that what the doctors are doing will work this time. Try to keep your dad's spirits high--who knows what the power of positive thinking can have on medical conditions--it certainly can't hurt.

My grandmother was a rigid diabetic who was diagnosed with Diabetes in 1976, and she did a very good job at managing it. Unfortunately, she had a major stroke in 1988 and shortly thereafter she had total kidney failure, which forced her to go to dialysis 3 times a week for the next 8 years until she died at the age of 84. At the time I believe she was the longest-surviving dialysis patient at Hackensack (NJ) Medical Center. But through it all, she was active and a real fighter, bless her soul.

Quoting UAL747 (Thread starter):Does anyone have any words of advice or knowledge about these things?

When I worked as a nursing supervisor, I cared for dozens of diabetics with various soft tissue and bone wounds and infections. The battle CAN be won, but it takes a lot of time and diligence. Success is often measured in weeks or months, rather than days.

Don't be surprised if he may need IV antibiotics a few times a day for many months. The medical folks may eventually have to surgically remove the infected soft tissue and leave the wound open for weeks. The open wound would require frequent dressing changes and cleaning. Although he might have to visit the doctor once a week, the medications and wound care can be done at home by family members or home-visiting nurses. Once the infection is gone, the skin is closed.

Good luck. My grandpa has it and he is fighting it very proudly. Remind your dad to be proud he is alive. Also, advise him to keep fighting it as others have said. Make sure your mom keeps track of his diet in order for him to get rid of it. In addition, offer to take care of him at the hospital to relive the rest of the family. Finally, pray to jesus and ask your friends to do so too. I hope he pulls through. Keep your chin up.

Type 2 diabetes is mainly a rich countries disease, caused by an excess of white sugar and fat, and lack of physical exercise. The problem could be that too much sugar is available in the blood, but the cells don't need it (lack of sport), so they're developping naturally a "resistance" to insuline to stop being forced to absorb sugar (this is only my interpretation !! and I'm not physician).
An other cause seems to be the stress: too much stress during a too long period can lead to a type 2 diabete. It could be an auto-immune disease caused by the stress. This last possibility scares me because I'm often stressed and last time I checked I had slightly too much sugar in the blood. I hope I'm not developping a diabete !! (thus my interest for the problem).

Your father needs to see a wound care specialist. Seeing a non-specialized surgeon, podiatrist or orthopedist is not enough. A wound care specialist works on healing rather than simple excision and drainage, and is trained to examine, stage and treat over a long period of time.

Most major hospital centers have a wound care division. Most major metropolitan areas also have a few freestanding wound care centers.

I haven't the time to do a web search for you tonight, but if you google "wound care" or "diabetic ulcer" you might be able to find something. Make sure you check references.

He's been a little unhappy with his care here, he's looking into going to the Mayo Clinic. Talking with doctors tonight to see the possibilities. He's pissed because they did this last skin graft...THEN..they did an MRI, which showed the infection in the bone. Sort of reverse order of what they should have done, because they could have scraped the bone before doing the skin graft. Now they have to do invasive surgery AGAIN on the foot. So not sure what he's going to do at this point.

Sometimes the best thing for a deep wound is to leave it "open" and packed for a while, to make sure that nothing gets trapped inside. Also, then you can directly observe for signs of adequate circulation, granulation (healing) and/or necrosis (tissue death.)